Normally, the baby grows 20 milk teeth, then 32 permanent ones appear in their place, including eights. But sometimes more teeth are cut. Such an anomaly is called hyperdontia and polyodontia, and the extra dental units themselves are called supercomplexes. The tooth is incomplete from the rest in shape and position in the oral cavity.
The danger of this pathology
As a rule, excess units grow outside the dentition, which affects the appearance of a person. They are especially visible when smiling or communicating. In some cases, even with a closed mouth, a person has protruding lips or an extended jaw that does not close. In the presence of supernumerary teeth, lisp and speech problems appear.
Hyperdontia also affects the formation of bite. After all, with such a pathology, difficulties arise with chewing and biting off food, in addition, there is a displacement of molars. Due to excess dental elements, problems arise with performing permanent hygiene procedures in the oral cavity. And without proper care, various diseases of the oral cavity appear.
Quite often, the mucous membrane undergoes damage with supernumerary teeth, which leads to inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. Due to the crowding of the dental units in a person, the dentition is incorrectly formed and the bite is broken.
Supercomplete teeth: causes
The exact cause of this anomaly is still unknown. However, scientists suggest that polyodontia occurs as a result of the splitting of the tooth germ or as atavism.
The appearance of excess bone formations in the mouth is explained by the fact that the dental system tries to return to the original number of units that were laid down by nature. Our ancestors had 6 incisors on the upper and lower jaws. That is why many doctors are inclined to believe that hypertension in some people is nothing more than atavism.
According to another hypothesis, excess dental units appear during the splitting of dental rudiments. Hyperdontia in this case appears due to a violation of the development of the jaws of the unborn baby in the embryonic period. A supernumerary tooth may also appear due to poor ecology, viral infections, future mother's use of drugs and alcohol, illegal drugs during pregnancy and other factors.
Scientists continue to investigate the causes of this anomaly. They cannot accurately explain the development of polyodontics, but most of them are inclined to the second hypothesis.
In many people with hyperdontia there is only one extra tooth, but in 25% of cases there are several such elements located most often in the dentition. At the same time, about one in five people with this pathology has a supernumerary retarded tooth.
Varieties of hyperdontia
Such an anomaly is classified into species according to several characteristics. Allocate hyperdontia:
- Atypical . The supernumerary units appear outside the alveolar holes, the dentition, and sometimes even outside the oral cavity.
- False . The development of polyodontics is associated with the eruption of jointed or doubled bone formations, as well as with a delay in the loss of milk teeth.
- The true one . The formation of supercomplete indigenous units is observed.
- Atavistic (typical). Additional dental elements are located within the dentition.
The main symptoms of polyodontics
The eruption of supernumerary units can have different symptoms in children and adults. For example, some babies are already born with such teeth. It becomes very difficult to feed them, as they injure the nipple during breastfeeding.
When a supernumerary tooth grows in an older child, symptoms such as:
- the appearance of pain at the site of eruption;
- temperature rise;
- in rare cases, upset stomach;
- edema of the upper respiratory tract;
- salivation.
The most difficult is the eruption of excess dental elements in the upper palate. When the baby begins to talk, polyodontics badly affects the pronunciation of sounds. In addition, the tongue and oral mucosa are constantly injured, which provokes the development of inflammatory processes.
How to relieve unpleasant teething symptoms?
This is true for young children, since adults in most cases do not feel any discomfort when additional dental elements appear in the mouth. Since the supernumerary tooth is cut through with the same symptoms as the milk tooth, the treatment for possible complications will be the same.
If a child has a high fever during teething, he should be given Ibuprofen or Paracetamol in the form of a suspension for oral administration. These medications not only help lower the temperature, but also eliminate the pain, as well as the symptoms of inflammation of the soft tissues of the palate or gums.
It is also recommended to use local means with anesthetic effect in the form of an ointment or gel when teething an oversized tooth: Solcoseryl, Dentinox and Kalgel. They have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Babies over 2 years old are allowed to be treated with alternative medicine: bee products (propolis and honey), decoctions of medicinal herbs (calendula, chamomile, lemon balm). It is also recommended to rinse your mouth with solutions made according to folk recipes. They relieve discomfort and prevent the development of inflammation. But before such treatment, you must always consult a dentist.
Sometimes a supernumerary temporary tooth erupts only partially, and part of its crown remains in the tissues of the jaw. To make this anlage grow, they perform a special massage, vibration or electrical stimulation.
Diagnostic measures
To detect the excess number of teeth in the oral cavity, a dentist just needs to perform a visual examination and listen to a person’s complaints. But if the supernumerary unit did not cut through, the specialist conducts an x-ray to fully study the picture. This study allows you to visualize all dental elements, even supernumerary, and also to find out the features of their location.
If it is necessary to study the problem area in different planes, as well as to detect inflammatory processes, the specialist conducts additional diagnostics using computed tomography.
Pathology elimination
The treatment of hyperdontia depends on many factors - the inclination and location of the supernumerary tooth, the degree of disturbance that it provokes, as well as the period of occlusion.
The removal of a supernumerary tooth is performed in the following situations:
- The extra unit erupts in place of the molars.
- Additional bone formation caused the formation of malocclusion pathologies, both deep and open.
- The supernumerary dental elements are retinned, and there is no chance of their eruption (distal, medial, vestibular or palatine inclination).
By the way, quite often just removing an extra tooth is not enough. To restore the integrity of the dentition, resort to the use of orthodontic appliances.
Removing a retracted supernumerary tooth
Extraction of an extra tooth unit is a surgical procedure, therefore it is carried out only in a dental clinic. Before performing this procedure, it is not recommended to use anticoagulants and alcoholic beverages. The day before the removal of the extra unit, the doctor carefully analyzes the results of computed tomography or radiography.
Anesthesia for the removal of a supernumerary tooth
This procedure is very painful, so the patient is anesthetized. Anesthesia is selected based on the volume of surgical intervention, the general condition of the patient and his age.
When an extracomplete tooth is removed in a child no older than 10 years old, it is preferable to do general anesthesia, especially with traumatic intervention. In the event that a person has nervous disorders, diseases of the cardiovascular system, the extraction of an unnecessary dental unit is necessarily carried out in a clinic under general anesthesia. Local anesthesia is indicated for children from 10-12 years old, and also in cases where the operation is not too complicated.
Before removing the supernumerary tooth, the dentist first makes an incision in the area of its location. As a result of this, the mucosal-periosteal flap is exfoliated. The dentist then removes the unwanted dental unit.
The dentist fills the void arising after extraction with artificial bone material if necessary. Then he puts in place the peeled flap and carefully sews it up.
The patient returns home the same day. Of course, within a few weeks he will have to be observed by a specialist. To avoid postoperative complications, an antibiotic is prescribed. To accelerate the healing of the hole, it is recommended to rinse the oral cavity with antiseptics, for example, chamomile broth or furacilin.